李明娟
Learning English is not an easy job for many people. They have to overcome lots of challenges on the way to be a good English learner. Here are three biggest challenges you should pay more attention to.
學(xué)習(xí)英語(yǔ)對(duì)許多人來(lái)說(shuō)不是一件容易的事。在成為一名優(yōu)秀英語(yǔ)學(xué)習(xí)者的過(guò)程中,他們必須克服許多困難。下面是你應(yīng)該多加注意的三大難題:
1. Developing a passion1 for learning English
1. 培養(yǎng)學(xué)習(xí)英語(yǔ)的熱情
All English learners would like to speak English well. They are excited at the idea of being able to communicate in English fluently. However, they usually dont care about the learning process itself. For most learners, learning English is a duty—something that they have to, but dont want to do. They dont see pleasure in learning English.
所有的英語(yǔ)學(xué)習(xí)者都想說(shuō)一口流利的英語(yǔ)。他們一想到能流利地用英語(yǔ)交流就感到興奮。然而,他們通常不關(guān)心學(xué)習(xí)過(guò)程本身。對(duì)大多數(shù)學(xué)習(xí)者來(lái)說(shuō),學(xué)習(xí)英語(yǔ)是一個(gè)必須要完成但又不想去做的任務(wù)。他們找不到學(xué)習(xí)英語(yǔ)的樂(lè)趣。
In short, most learners would like to speak English well but dont like to be learning English. This is the first and biggest problem facing an English learner, because a person who doesnt like to learn English will not learn it well. If you dont love English, English wont love you back!
簡(jiǎn)而言之,大多數(shù)學(xué)習(xí)者都想說(shuō)一口流利的英語(yǔ),但又不想學(xué)。這是英語(yǔ)學(xué)習(xí)者面臨的第一個(gè)也是最大的問(wèn)題,因?yàn)椴幌矚g學(xué)習(xí)英語(yǔ)的人學(xué)不好英語(yǔ)。如果你不愛(ài)英語(yǔ),英語(yǔ)就不會(huì)愛(ài)你!
If you want to become a successful learner, you need to like the learning process itself. You need to treat time spent on English as time for pleasure and relaxation2. For example, you need to enjoy:
如果你想成為一個(gè)成功的學(xué)習(xí)者,就要喜歡學(xué)習(xí)過(guò)程本身。要把花在英語(yǔ)上的時(shí)間當(dāng)作娛樂(lè)和放松的時(shí)間。例如,你需要好好享受(以下幾點(diǎn)):
Reading English sentences and thinking about their structure3;
讀英語(yǔ)句子并思考其結(jié)構(gòu);
Learning new words from a dictionary;
從字典中學(xué)新詞;
Writing a correct English sentence by consulting4 dictionaries, grammar guides, and the Web;
通過(guò)查閱字典、語(yǔ)法指南和網(wǎng)絡(luò),寫(xiě)出正確的英語(yǔ)句子;
Practising the pronunciation of English sounds and words.
練習(xí)英語(yǔ)語(yǔ)音和單詞發(fā)音。
Ideally5, learning English should be your hobby. You should think of yourself as an English learner—a person who has chosen learning English as one of their favorite activities.
在理想情況下,學(xué)習(xí)英語(yǔ)應(yīng)該成為你的愛(ài)好。你應(yīng)該把自己看作一個(gè)英語(yǔ)學(xué)習(xí)者——選擇將學(xué)習(xí)英語(yǔ)作為最喜歡的活動(dòng)之一。
2. Making the first change to ones life
2. 做出人生的第一個(gè)改變
The decision to learn English requires changes in your life. For example, deciding that one will read a book in English for 30 minutes every day and keeping to that decision. Its very difficult to make a small, but permanent6 change to your life, especially if learning English doesnt seem “fun”. However, learners should remember that studying English for 15 minutes every day gives you much better results than studying for a whole day once a month.
決定學(xué)習(xí)英語(yǔ)需要改變你的生活。例如,決定每天讀30分鐘英語(yǔ)書(shū),并堅(jiān)持下去。對(duì)生活做一個(gè)小而持久的改變很難,尤其是學(xué)英語(yǔ)似乎不太“有趣”。然而,學(xué)習(xí)者應(yīng)該記住,每天學(xué)習(xí)15分鐘英語(yǔ)比每個(gè)月學(xué)習(xí)一整天的效果要好得多。
3. Making further changes to ones life
3. 進(jìn)一步改變自己的生活
While the first change is the most difficult, each subsequent7 one is hard, too. A lot of learners take the first step (e.g. they start reading a book in English every day) and stop there. They do not engage8 in other English-building activities.
雖然第一次改變是最困難的,但隨后的每一次也很難。很多學(xué)習(xí)者邁出了第一步(例如,他們開(kāi)始每天讀英語(yǔ)書(shū)),然后就停在那里,不再參與其他英語(yǔ)學(xué)習(xí)活動(dòng)了。
A good learner will have a set of activities (reading, watching TV, practising pronunciation, listening to recordings, etc.) and choose from that set according to his or her mood. One activity is not good enough, because 1 you get bored more quickly, and 2 it gives you a range9 of language skills that is too narrow. For example, reading in English cant improve your pronunciation, although it can improve your grammar, vocabulary, reading comprehension10, and writing skills.
好的學(xué)習(xí)者會(huì)安排一系列的活動(dòng)(閱讀、看電視、練習(xí)發(fā)音、聽(tīng)錄音等),并根據(jù)自己的心情從中來(lái)挑選。單個(gè)活動(dòng)不夠好是因?yàn)椋旱谝?,你?huì)很快感到無(wú)聊;第二,它讓你學(xué)習(xí)的語(yǔ)言技能范圍變得太窄了。例如,英語(yǔ)閱讀雖然可以提高你的語(yǔ)法、詞匯、閱讀理解和寫(xiě)作技巧,但無(wú)法提高你的發(fā)音水平。
Think about how to take up those three challenges and youll make a great progress in your English study.
多思考如何應(yīng)對(duì)這三大難題,你的英語(yǔ)學(xué)習(xí)會(huì)取得顯著進(jìn)步。